Bislamg heftigster Angriff von US-Demokrat auf Netanjahu

Auch wenn die Biden-Administration Israel weiter militärisch und vor allem diplomatisch unterstützt, wird immer deutlicher, wie wenig die US-Demokraten von der Regierung Benjamin Netanjahus halten.

Nachdem sich erst kürzlich Vizepräsidentin Kamala Harris äußerst kritisch geäußert über die humanitäre Lage in Gaza hatte, legte nun Chuck Schumer, demokratischer Führer der Mehrheit im US-Senat noch einmal nach und forderte sogar Neuwahlen in Israel:

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, on Thursday called for Israel to hold new elections, saying he believed the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had “lost his way” and risked turning the country into a pariah with its bombardment of Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis it caused.

The comments from Schumer, the Democratic leader of Congress’s upper chamber and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, came even as he presses for lawmakers to approve a military assistance package for Israel as well as Ukraine, two countries Joe Biden has named as two of America’s top national security priorities.

In remarks from the Senate floor, Schumer said he had a longstanding relationship with Netanyahu but believed he “has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel”.

Noting the prime minister’s inclusion of far-right officials in his government, Schumer said Netanyahu “has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah”. (...)

Schumer has positioned himself as a strong ally of Israel’s government, visiting the country days after Hamas’s attack. His remarks on Thursday represented a shift in his thinking, with Schumer saying: “The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed – radically – since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

He listed Netanyahu, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood, as among several obstacles to the two-state solution supported by the United States, alongside rightwing Israelis, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.

“These are the four obstacles to peace, and if we fail to overcome them, then Israel and the West Bank and Gaza will be trapped in the same violent state of affairs they’ve experienced for the last 75 years,” Schumer said.

He added that the US could not dictate the outcome of an election in Israel, but “there needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after October 7”.

Israel’s ruling Likud party responded to Schumer by defending Netanyahu’s public support and saying Israel is “not a banana republic”.